No. Everything stops (except for the cycle time clock). I can't overide limit switches, jog the machine, or move it in any way. the only way to get back to work is to power down the CNC, shut down Mach 4 and start over...

Hey everybody. I'm hoping for some guidance in troubleshooting a problem I've had for some time.

Basically something unpredictably freezes during a run cycle. It's always while the bit is engaged and mostly (but not always) occurs while taking a heavier cut (but nothing crazy). For instance, I was cutting a small part out of 1/2" Baltic Birch Ply yesterday. Feed rate 15 and full depth with a 1/2" spiral roughing bit. About 1/2 way through it stopped. At this point I need to restart Mach 4, and restart the machine. Next I ran the cycle with the bit high (cutting air) and all was fine. Next I re-ran the part again. When it got to the place where it failed earlier it stopped just after making contact with the wood. Next, I re-ran the part and slowed the feed down to about 7. The machine finished the part. This is a typical experience when it fails. But it doesn't always fail....One thing to note, when the program stops, the Cycle Time clock keeps running. I'm also able to enable/disable Mach 4, but can't jog the machine or get it to move at all.

One of the problems is that I can't tell what the problem is. Is it Mach 4? Is it noise interference from the router/bit causing problems with the PC or with the BOB? (I bought a shielded ethernet cable to see if this was the problem, no dice). A water cooled spindle is the last piece of the puzzle that I didn't want to afford during the build. Could it be this?

Background:Home made CNC. Steppers/Drivers/BOB/ESS etc.. purchased from Automation Technologies. To save some $$ I went with a palm router to get me started instead of a DC spindle and VFD (probably a mistake, but...).

Everything worked well for quite a while except if I tried to take too aggressive of a cut. At that point the system would lose communication with the computer (Mach4) and everything stopped. It seemed to occur when the noise/vibration got to a certain audible frequency. I could adjust the feed rate/depth of cut and RPM of the motor to avoid the problem, but program times seem to be longer than what they probably should be and besides, I just want my stuff to work right!

So I just purchased a Shielded Cat 6 Ethernet cable and installed it thinking this could be the root of the problem. On my first test run I purposely pushed the bit a little harder than I knew it could handle in the past. I was cruising along and I thought the problem was fixed, then.... It stopped again, except this time Mach4 kept running the program. This was different than before. I shut the machine down, restarted Mach4 from scratch as I had been forced to do previously and tried again. This time, though, the machine wont move. Except my X axis (which was the only motor moving as it "Broke" earlier) turns very slowly, but only when it's connected to mach.

So there has to be a logical explanation of what happened right? Well I can't find it.. Nothing is visibly fried. All the lights on the ESS and C10 BOB are lit as they are supposed to be. All wires are snug and secure in their locations. Everything LOOKS normal, except the results...

Why isn't there a canned solution for something as simple as a manual tool change? This forum is loaded with posts about Mach 4 users having to write code to do tasks that should be VERY easy. As easy as selecting a few check boxes or radio buttons. I realize there are many different machines and processes that users are trying to run, but I have to think that most of what we're all trying to accomplish is based on a handful of basic operations.

I've been searching for a M6 Macro that will:-Recognize that a tool change is needed and pause the program.-Raise the Z axis to the top.-Allow a bit change.-Allow me to touch off the new bit.-and Resume the program.

Why is this not built into Mach 4?

Mostly what I'm finding on this forum is people who are forced to learn how to write code (like me) when all we really want to do is run our machines. I'm willing to guess that 90% of us don't consider Lua coding a hobby or a profession.

I understand that Mach 4 is VERY customizable, and that is great, but shouldn't be necessary to perform basic tasks like changing a tool!

This post helped me a lot too.. without trying to hijack the thread, it doesn't appear that the standard m6 macro allows for touching off the new tool (obviously I don't have a tool changer). is this possible?

Hey everybody,I'm attaching my profile hoping someone smarter than me will take a look at it and tell me where I"m going wrong.

I have 2 basic problems and I'm sure they're related:1. when I use the "touch" function to auto zero the tool (I have a puck style plate), the tool moves down in Z, touches, and retracts to the parameters I've set, but it doesn't change the height read out. It just keeps whatever z height was in there.

2. After I've made the necessary adjustments to get the Z height correct, I press "Cycle start", the machine moves X and Y correctly to the starting point then Z either goes all the way up and hits my limit switch or buries itself into the work piece.

Not sure where to start looking. The documentation on the Mach support pages are basically useless as far as I can tell, unless I'm just looking in the wrong place. Seems like the forums are the only place to get help.